INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay senior center Alec Brown (Winona, Minn./Winona) and Oakland senior guard Travis Bader (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) have been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball co-Players of the Week, while Oakland guard Kahlil Felder (Detroit, Mich./Pershing) has been named the Freshman of the Week, for the week of Dec. 16-22. The award is the second of the season for both Brown and Felder. For Bader, the honor marks the first of his career.
Embarking on a five-game homestand, Brown led Green Bay (8-3) to wins over Tennessee Tech, 76-49, and Fairfield, 74-58. Bader and Felder helped Oakland (4-10) go 2-1 at home, sandwiching wins over Illinois State, 90-75, and Robert Morris, 100-94, around an 81-79 overtime loss to Eastern Michigan.
In Green Bay’s rout over Tennessee Tech, Brown finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four blocks, saving his best performance for Saturday afternoon. Taking on Fairfield, Brown went 12-for-17 from the floor, accumulating 40 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. The 40-point outburst was just the third such performance in Green Bay history and made Brown the first Phoenix player in over 25 years to reach the mark, with Tony Bennett last doing so with 44 points against Wright State on Feb. 11, 1989.
Brown is the first Horizon League player to reach 40 points since former Cleveland State standout Norris Cole posted 41 on Feb. 12, 2011. Brown also reached 251 blocks for his career, making him just the second player in conference history to eclipse 250.
Bader knocked down 21 3-pointers across the three games, beginning with four in a 21-point, 11-rebound effort against Illinois State. The double-double was the first of Bader’s career. On Saturday, Bader went 10-of-15 from 3-point range against Eastern Michigan, finishing with 33 points in the defeat. The 10 3-pointers matched the third-highest total in Horizon League history. Bader capped the week with seven 3-pointers in Oakland’s win over Robert Morris.
Over the weekend, Bader jumped from 10th to sixth on the NCAA career 3-pointer list. With 422 career 3-pointers, Bader sits nine behind former Tennessee sharpshooter Curtis Lofton and Santa Clara’s Kevin Foster for fourth (431) all-time.
Running the point for the Golden Grizzlies, Felder recorded five or more assists in all three games last week. Against Illinois State, Felder added five assists to a 12-point effort. The freshman followed up with an 11-point, six-assist performance against Eastern Michigan. Felder wrapped the week by handing out nine assists against Robert Morris.
Through his first 14 collegiate games, Felder is averaging 4.7 assists per game, ranking third in the conference.
Green Bay will return from Christmas break to host St. Francis (Ill.) on Saturday, Dec. 28, at 2 p.m. ET, with the Horizon League Network carrying the game. Oakland will remain in the O’rena, welcoming Defiance College on Friday, Dec. 27, at 7 p.m. ET, also on HLN.
Top Performers for the Week: